The Malik Report

The Detroit Red Wings' signing of Pavel Datsyuk to a 3-year extension (with one year already remaining on Datsyuk's current contract) is a game-changer in terms of shaping the team going forward, but Red Wings director of European scouting Hakan Andersson related a tale to MLive's Ansar Khan that few fans know: the Wings had absolutely no idea who Datsyuk was when Andersson made a trip to Yekaterinburg, Russia back in 1998:

“It was his last year as a junior player (1997-98) and I was going to Eastern Russia, to a city called Yekaterinburg, where the Czar was killed in the early 1900s,'' Andersson said. “The player I wanted to see was a defenseman, Dmitri Kalinin, ended up being drafted by Buffalo (18th overall in 1998).''

“As the game went on I saw this little centerman who was pretty good,'' Andersson said. “He worked hard up and down the ice, had good hockey sense. He broke up a lot of plays and had good skill. I went away from the game with a report on Kalinin, but also a report on this little kid.''

Andersson, accompanied by a Russian interpreter, attempted to speak to Datsyuk in the Zamboni entrance after the game.

“We wanted to meet with Kalinin because he was a possible first-rounder,'' Andersson said. “But the interpreter knew I was a little interested in Pav, so (Datsyuk) came walking by and he said, 'Are you that No. 13?' They talked briefly in Russian and then (Datsyuk) just took off. The interpreter said, 'He wasn't very interested in talking.' ''

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Holland said the team relies on its scouts to step up and make a case for a player in the later rounds.

“Hakan Andersson knows when to fight (for a player), and if he has a player he really likes he’ll be banging the drum with Joe McDonnell (director of amateur scouting) and Jim Nill (now the GM of the Dallas Stars),’’ Holland said. “They respect Hakan’s skill and experience. When Hakan is fighting for a player, they’ll listen.’‘

Fifteen years later, Datsyuk continues to dangle the puck like no one in the game and dazzle audiences like few can. And the man who discovered him couldn’t be more gratified.

THE best Organ-I-zation in professional sports.

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SYF
from Twerkin' with Anastasia Ashley on 06/19/13 at 11:58 AM ET

Those are true statements, George. What isn’t true is that seeing Datsyuk play affected their desire to draft Kalinin at all, nor did seeing Datsyuk play affect their inability to draft Kalinin (he was already gone long before they picked).

On an amusing note; the Avs took Scott Parker 20th that year and the Wings got Fischer at 25th. That is amazingly funny in retrospect. I always hated Parker so (and his stupid beard and nickname). He was my go to example of a waste of a roster spot and I never knew he was a first rounder.

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